Critical Manufacturing Releases Version 4.3 MES with new Visual KPI Widgets, Shift Planning and Mapping

PORTO, Portugal – April 7, 2016 — Critical Manufacturing, a supplier of integrated manufacturing execution systems (MES) to empower operations of the global high-technology manufacturing industry, introduces cmNavigo 4.3. This release enhances the already comprehensive application set to deliver new functionality including new visual widgets for key performance indicators (KPIs), shift planning for management and mapping for complex products such as semiconductor wafers.

These support even more of the central tenants of the Industry 4.0 vision: lower costs, better utilization of resources, and management and traceability at an individual item level. Previous versions already supported decentralization, horizontal and vertical integration, connectivity, sensing, mobile, and advanced analytics for Industry 4.0.

Major new functions in this release include:

• KPI widgets for overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), plus process and resource KPIs, which improve users’ ability to instantly understand performance;
• Labor shift planning based on defining workgroups with resource and personnel requirements, distributing and balancing personnel across teams and the ability to managed both shift plans and individual employees’ calendars visually to making effective use of personnel;
• Mapping which can be used for controlling loads and gaining detailed traceability down to the socket or individual item level in semiconductor and solar wafer applications, plus strip mapping and test board mapping.

cmNavigo 4.3 also includes enhancements to dispatching, maintenance, material tracking, reporting and analytics, resource tracking, scheduling, SPC and to the core system framework for greater flexibility.

“As advanced manufacturers adopt Industry 4.0 and other transformational business visions, they must be able to manage to the individual product level and ensure that skilled human resources are used wisely. They must visualize performance at a glance to make rapid decisions in a fast-changing environment. Our product has not only the architecture to support Industry 4.0, but also the functions to support automated and agile operations,” said João Cortez, Product Manager at Critical Manufacturing. “This new functionality will help manufacturers improve the operational performance of current business and move into new offerings for their customers.”

cmNavigo 4.3 software is available now for implementation in semiconductor manufacturing, electronics manufacturing, medical device manufacturing and other manufacturing enterprises throughout the world. Critical Manufacturing’s highly acclaimed service teams support clients with their deep background in advanced information technology, business intelligence, migration from legacy MES systems, and greenfield installations.